Several developments have taken place with regard to providing a control switch and/or an alarm circuit for detecting abnormal levels of water in air conditioning unit condensate collection pans and water leak containment pans for hot water heaters and the like.
However, there has been a continuing need for improvements in such devices including the provision of a device which may utilize a tablet which is readily dissolvable in water, and a control switch device which may be easily mounted in a condensate pan for an air conditioning cooling coil or a water containment pan for a hot water heater or the like. In particular, there has been a need for a control switch which can utilize a biocide composition tablet, such as of a type used in air conditioning condensate pans to minimize the accumulation of algae in the pan or an associated drain conduit, for example.
There has also been a need for a control switch device which will provide a signal to a thermostat or the like, and/or automatically disable a cooling mode of operation of an air conditioning system. Still further, there has been a need for a control switch which will provide an audible as well as a visual signal in the event of accumulation of abnormal amounts of water in a condensate collection pan or a water leak containment pan and which device may be periodically tested for operability and may be easily retrofitted to existing installations of air conditioning equipment, hot water heaters and similar equipment.
It is to the above-mentioned ends, as well as to provide other advantages in condensate pan and water leak containment pan control devices, that the present invention has been developed.